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RECENT POSTS

In the first part of The Matchup, we will look at what Cubs hitters have torched Dodger pitching; either a particular pitcher or the staff as a whole. As few of the Cubs regulars have spent any time playing for a West Coast team, the plate appearances are fairly limited.

Consistently Good against the Dodgers:Mark DeRosa-DeRo hit .333 against the Dodgers this year, dropping his career average against them to .343. In 24 games against the Dodgers, DeRo has a 1.009 OPS, thanks to 10 extra base hits. He hits well at Dodger Stadium, where he has a lifetime average of .353 and an OPS of 1.141.

Ryan Theriot-As I mentioned, numbers are fairly limited, but The Riot hit .333 this year against the Dodgers and has hit .319 for his career against them. He is particularly good against Greg Maddux, who may or may not be on the Dodgers post-season roster.

Alfonso Soriano-Soriano only hit .276 against the Dodgers this year, but he is a lifetime .341 hitter against L.A. He hits especially well against Maddux (.333) and Kuroda (.429).

Good Against Certain PitchersDerrek Lee v. Derek Lowe-Look for D.Lee to have a big night against D.Lowe in Game 1 of the NLDS. Lee is a career .393 hitter in 30 PA's vs. Lowe, but has hit mostly singles.

Aramis Ramirez v. Jonathan Broxton-If Joe Torre gets the chance, I imagine he'll bring in Saito to face ARam instead of Broxton. Ramirez has 4 hits in 4 official AB's against Broxton, and walked in his only other plate appearance.

Jim Edmonds v. Chan Ho Park-Park has been a solid reliever for the Dodgers this year, but it's doubtful we'll see a Park v. Edmonds matchup. Jimmers is hitting .319 off the righty with a .409 OBP.

Kosuke Fukudome v. Takaski Saito-One of the few guys Fukudome had seen prior to this year, Fukudome went 2 for 2 against Saito, including a hit that gave the Cubs a 5-4 victory over the Dodgers back in June.

Reed Johnson v. Derrek Lowe-It will be interesting to see how Lou plays the matchups, because the left-handed Edmonds has struggled against Lowe while ReJo has hit him hard. In just 11 plate appearances, ReJo has driven in 5 and has collected 4 hits (a .364 BA).

Analysis

While none of the Cubs have hit for a lot of power against the Dodgers, Dodger Stadium isn't an HR-friendly park. Power is great in the playoffs, but it's often the little things that win games. If guys like Soriano and The Riot can set the table, the Cubs should be able to score some runs.